Uconn

STORRS — T.J. Weist has 25 years of college football coaching experience. During those 25 years, he has never coached defense.

Dang if he doesn't sound and act like a defensive coach.

"We're going to hit you in the mouth," Weist said, "and we're going to be physical all the way down the field."

As he says this, Weist looks directly at his questioner with an intensity that goes beyond intimidating and stops just short of frightening. The deep baritone voice does nothing to soften the impression, though it comes with the feeling that Weist is one of those "good guys" you hear about.

UConn fans hope the first-year offensive coordinator for the Huskies can make what has mostly been anemic offense for years, especially in the passing game, something much more fearful. That's the goal, really.

"We want to have an intense, hard-hitting offense," said Weist, who played receiver at Alabama and is also responsible for coaching the UConn receivers. "Most guys say that about a defense, but that's our approach. We want to play fast, be intense and we want defenses to have fear that we're going to make plays and execute."

Execution is the linchpin of any offense. The word is used so often in football circles that it becomes tiring. Asked to use one word to describe what he wants his UConn offense to do, Weist said, "Execute."

At least in that regard he is just like every other football coach on the planet. In most ways, however, Weist is a different sort. He and his offensive coaches wear headsets during practices. The headsets are not hooked up to anything. There is no chatter going on. He just wants everybody to become accustomed to what things will be like on game day.

The hand signals coming

See UCONN, Page 10B

in from the sidelines represent an intricate dance. In position drills, Weist is more often than not seen sprinting down the field alongside his charges. In an effort to get his players to learn the offense and play and think faster, Weist will spring situational quizzes on them without warning.

Former offensive coordinator George DeLeone, now the offensive line coach and associate head coach, is a coaching encyclopedia, but vanilla in his approach. Weist is the antithesis.

"He's intense; there's no other way to put it," receiver Geremy Davis. "But it's not a crazy intense. It's more of a calm intensity. It's hard to explain, to tell you the truth. I know this: When you see him running up and down the field with you, it's impossible not to work as hard as you can. If a coach can do that, there's no reason we can't."

Weist spent the last three years as the receivers coach at Cincinnati. UConn knows well the kind of dynamic offense the Bearcats have employed for years. Weist had also never been an offensive coordinator before, save for the Belk Bowl last year after Cincinnati coach and offensive coordinator Butch Jones left to take over at Tennessee before the bowl game.

Never having been a coordinator wasn't a deterrent in coach Paul Pasqualoni's hiring of Weist. It's likely that Pasqualoni was quickly won over by the intensity and attention to detail Weist possesses. It has won over the Huskies.

Even the quizzes, a shock at first, have proved popular.

"At first, I felt like the kid in class who didn't know the answer and was trying to hide but got called on anyway," quarterback Chandler Whitmer said. "I knew right then that I had to study that playbook and know everything inside and out. Every time he's near me, I think he's going to start asking me questions and he wants answers quick. I think it's a good way to learn the offense."

The thinking behind the quizzes is obvious: The faster the Huskies come up with the correct answer, the faster they'll be able to apply that knowledge on the field. Weist doesn't want his offense paralyzed by overthinking on the field. He wants fast execution and quick decisions.

"We want to teach our guys to react," Weist said. "It's the thinking without reacting that gives the defense the upper hand. Everything we do is about thinking fast. If you can give us an answer right away, then reacting without thinking is what you will do on the field.

"If you do it so many times, it stops being a thought and becomes a reaction."

The only question is how long it will take the Huskies to reach that point.

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